On March 9, 2026, representatives of the Equality and Gender Departments of the Public Defender's Office of Georgia - Mariam Botchorishvili and Gvantsa Kharatishvili - participated in an event organized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which was dedicated to the rights of refugee and migrant women and girls and legal mechanisms for protection against discrimination.

As part of the event, representatives of the Public Defender introduced the participants to the mandate of the Public Defender, Georgian legislation on gender equality, and the mechanisms for protecting victims of discrimination, including victims of gender-based violence. The meeting focused on women's rights, services available to victims of violence in the country, the principle of equality and various forms of discrimination, which are particularly relevant for women and girls with migration experience.

The event was held within the framework of International Women's Day, the theme of which this year was "Rights, Justice, Action For All Women and Girls" and its goal was to raise awareness among refugee and migrant women and girls about their rights, introduce them to existing legal mechanisms and share practices.

The Public Defender of Georgia considers it important to protect the rights of refugee and migrant women and girls and to promote their empowerment and will continue to work to strengthen their equality and prevent discrimination.

Grazie all’ingresso di un nuovo collaboratore nel team della Difensora civica Veronika Meyer, sono di nuovo attivate le consulenze in lingua ladina.

La Difesa civica offre nuovamente consulenza in lingua ladina. Il servizio si rivolge principalmente a cittadine e cittadini che necessitano di supporto in conflitti con l'amministrazione pubblica.

Le ore di consulenza si svolgono regolarmente a San Martino in Badia e ad Ortisei; sono possibili, inoltre, appuntamenti nelle sedi di Bolzano, Bressanone e Brunico, nonché consulenze telefoniche. Per fissare un appuntamento basta chiamare il numero 0471.946020 o inviare una e-mail all'indirizzo posta@difesacivica.bz.it. A St. Martino in Badia, l'8 maggio verrà inserita un'ora di consulenza aggiuntiva.

Le consulenze in ladino sono possibili grazie all’ingresso nel team della Difensora civica Veronika Meyer di un nuovo collaboratore di lingua ladina: Matthias Plazza, di Rina, è laureato in Giurisprudenza con studi a Innsbruck e Padova e ha lavorato in uno studio legale a Bolzano; nel tempo libero, fa parte di diverse bande musicali ed è maestro del coro “Antervoisis" ad Antermoia.

DC

On Friday 6 March, the High Court refused permission for the judicial review sought by the Charity Commission in relation to two investigations we completed in March 2024. PHSO investigated complaints about how the Commission handled concerns regarding serious safeguarding issues of sexual exploitation and child sex abuse at two separate charities.

Our investigations uncovered several failings, including around the Commission’s decision-making and its communication with the complainants, Mr Murray and Miss Hall. We recommended that the Commission apologise, provide financial redress to both complainants and take action to stop the same failures from being repeated. This included reviewing its handling of these two cases and the original decisions, as well as its risk assessment and communication guidance.  

In March 2025, after failing to reach agreement with the Commission on compliance with our recommendations, PHSO took the rare decision to lay the reports before Parliament so that Parliament could hold the Commission to account. The Commission issued legal proceedings to prevent the reports from being laid. Following a successful motion in the House of Commons, the reports were laid in September 2025. 

The Court recognised that our original findings identified failings with the Commission’s decision-making. It also acknowledged that our recommendation for the Commission to undertake a review of its decision was intended to remedy the injustice experienced by Mr Murray and Miss Hall. 

In our submission to the Court, we said that the Commission needed to take into account relevant considerations (which can include allegations of inappropriate behaviour) when making an assessment of risk in a safeguarding context.  The judgment was clear that a criminal conviction is not a necessary condition to disqualification or, therefore, to regulatory action by the Commission. The Judge accepted PHSO’s submissions and found the claim to be academic and legally unarguable.

In its judgment, the Court also made clear that the outcome of the Commission’s review of the handling of Miss Hall’s case needed to be communicated to her.  

The Court also recognised that PHSO’s role is to hold public bodies to account, including where organisations fail to comply with our recommendations. It confirmed that our decision to lay reports does not require a new complaint of maladministration in addition to the finding of failings as part of the original investigation.   

A PHSO spokesperson said: 

One of our roles is to hold public bodies to account, acting on behalf of Parliament. This is an important principle to uphold, and the Court’s decision supports that principle by refusing the Charity Commission's request for permission to judicially review. 

 

“Our reports were laid before Parliament after failing to reach agreement on compliance with the Charity Commission. 

 

“At the heart of what might seem like a matter of process are two people, Miss Hall and Mr Murray, who have suffered significant injustice. Securing resolution for the complainants remains the priority, alongside making sure the lessons identified in our investigations are implemented. 

 

 “While the Charity Commission has made some changes after our original reports, we hope the Commission will now focus on working constructively to fully comply with our recommendations and provide the assurance that the public are entitled to expect.”